Food waste scholar, educator, & storyteller.
My name is Dr. Haley Everitt (she/her) and I am a food waste scholar, educator, and storyteller.
I was a master’s student when I conducted my first waste audit. There I was, elbow deep in a bag of trash separating containers, paper, and food, when I found an unopened container of cinnamon buns. My jaw dropped.
I checked the best before date. It had not yet passed.
I ripped open the plastic packaging and inspected the buns for mold. For a moment the smell of cinnamon and cream cheese frosting filled the room before the smell of decomposing organic matter returned. No mold.
I wondered why someone would throw away an unopened package of food.
This experience has and continues to lead me to pursue opportunities where I can use my research talents, teaching expertise, and leadership skills to make a positive impact within waste management, climate change, and food and agriculture sectors.
Hello!
Research Interests
Food waste, waste reduction, waste diversion, waste characterization and composition, sustainable food systems, climate change mitigation, climate change policy and governance, circular economy, & pro-environmentalism and behavioural change
Teaching Interests
Sustainability, climate science and communication, climate change mitigation and adaptation, environmental justice, & social change
Personal Interests
When I'm not teaching or researching, I am happiest outdoors or at a pottery wheel.
About
Most recently, I joined the Department of Geography, Environment, and Geomatics at the University of Guelph as a Postdoctoral Scholar where I research the social context of waste and its management. As part of this role, I am collaborating with a national research team to identify barriers and opportunities for greenhouse gas mitigation within Canada’s food value chain, leading knowledge mobilization efforts for an IC&I food recovery and rescue project convened by Canada’s Circular Innovation Council, and investigating food waste research and advocacy network opportunities for Canada in partnership with the National Zero Waste Council.
I completed my Ph.D. in the Department of Geography and Environment at Western University. My Ph.D. research contributes to developing a stronger understanding of how much food is wasted in different settings, why it is wasted, and what strategies are effective in reducing food waste. A key component of my Ph.D. was to conduct research in partnership with the City of London, Ontario. The inclusion of community engagement and government collaboration has positioned my research to have meaningful and long-lasting impacts beyond academia.
Alongside my research experiences, I have taught more than 1,200 students across six courses at two post-secondary institutions. In 2019, I joined the School of Language and Liberal Studies at Fanshawe College and in 2022, I joined Western University’s Department of Geography and Environment. Additionally, I have four years of experience as a teaching assistant and have been an invited guest lecturer at Lakehead University and the University of British Columbia.
In parallel with my desire to teach, I have an interest in the scholarship of teaching and learning. I joined Western University’s Centre for Teaching and Learning in 2020 as a Teaching Assistant Training Program Instructor. As a lifelong learner, I concurrently participated in numerous professional development opportunities within the scholarship of teaching and learning to further my own effectiveness as a post-secondary instructor. Most recently, I completed the internationally recognized Instructional Skills Workshop and earned my Certificate in Teaching at the University Level. I attribute much of the positive student feedback I consistently receive on my teaching evaluations to my engagement with the scholarship of teaching and learning. My recent instructor effectiveness/competency scores were 6.7/7 at Western University and 4.9/5 at Fanshawe College, the latter of which was substantially higher than the mean scores of my department and the college as a whole. Due to my interest in the scholarship of teaching and learning, I am currently investigating alternative assessments and student mental wellness in Canadian universities.